Vehicle.



l v .UNITED- STATE I PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES BUCHANAN, or NEW YORK, N. Y.

VEHICLE.

srnoIrIcArIoN forming part of Letters Patent no. 650,818, dated June 5,1 960.

Application filed December 9, 1899. Serial No. 739,847. (No model.)

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, JAMES BUCHANAN, a citizen of the United States,residing at No. 1587 Fulton street, Brooklyn borough, New York city, inthe county of Kings and State of New York, have made a new and usefulImprovement in Vehicles and Similar Structuresthat is to say, myinvention is applicable to wheeled vehicles of all kinds, also tocannon, ammunition-wagons, wheelbarrows, push-carts, and the likeinfact, to any and all structures mounted upon rotary wheels or rollers-ofwhich the following is a specification, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings.

- The characteristic feature of my invention consists in a peculiarconstruction of the apparatus whereby certain of the wheels are adaptedto independent movement, and this construction is adapted to use inseveral ways, among them that in which a series of wheels (three ormore) are mounted in a frame which is itself rotary, so that a result,which I denominate climbing, may be effected, as will be hereinafterexplained, by which Ve hicle's -such as push-carts,wheelbarrows,cannon,ammunition-wagons, and the like'may be better adapted to pass overobstructions having considerable vertical height--for instance, in thecase of push-carts or wheelbarrows mounting curbs or passing over beamsor other obstructions and in the case of ammunition-wagons, &c., passingover ditches, stone walls, trunks of trees, and other obstructions,provided they be not too excessive. Referring to the drawings hereof,Figure 1 illustrates a plan view of one form of my invention as appliedto an ordinary truck. Fig. 2' illustrates an elevation of that which isshown in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 illustrates a plan view of a truck embodying myinvention in a somewhat more elaborated form. Fig. 4 illustrates anelevation of the invention as applied to a push-cart. Fig. 5 illustratesa detail, partly in section, of the form shown in Fig. i. Fig. 6illustrates'a detail.

Referring first to Figs. 1, 2, and 3, A is the body of the truck; B, thefront axle; C, the usual fifth-wheel; D, the usual front wheels; E E,the shafts. The rear wheels are supported upon a crossaxle F, upon whichhubs G G are supported and have pivotal action on the axle.

H H are bars rigidly attached to the hubs and which extend to the frontand rear thereof,

as shown. The front end is in the example shown considerably longer thanthe rear end, and at or near the extreme front portion of these bars arelaterally-projecting studs I, which act as the axis'u'pon which-wheels JJ rotate in the usual manner.

K K are braces extending, preferably, from the front portion of the barsH back to the axle, so as to give suitable rigidity to the bars H.Instead of these braces a cross-bar similar to an axle may pass directlythrough the side bars H near their ends and the wheels J J be supportedthereon. This axle, however, would not sustain any part .of the load.

At the rear end of the side bars H (see Fig.

bars H by a vertical trunnion or axis N, and in each of these frames ispivoted a small wheel 0 upon a cross shaft or axis P. The front wheels Dand these rear or caster wheels 0, as I will call them, are preferablymade so small that they will readily turn under the body of the truckduring its movement. on curves or when turning, 850.

In Fig. 3 I show an elaboration of'the idea V .7 2) there is ahinge-like joint resembling that of an ordinary caster-that is to say,frames 7 or forks M are pivoted to the rear ends of the disclosed inFigs. 1 and 2 that is to say, the

front wheels of the vehicle are made in all substantial respects thesame as the rear wheels'shown in Fig.1, excepting that the axle'ispivoted to the fifth-wheel and has rotary movement upon it, and theshafts are attached to this axle. Also in this instance I omit thebraces K, to indicate that they are not necessary under allcircumstances. The other parts .are or may be identical'in' constructionwith that above described relative to the rear axle and its wheels inFig. 1. In this case, however, the rear axle is provided with anintermediate set of caster-wheels, (marked Q.) They are pivoted to theside bars H, between the rear wheels 0' and the main or front wheels J,and the side bars are curved upwardly in this instance, (see Fig. 6,) sothat this intermediate pair of casterwheels (marked Q) may swing underit and too the braces K during the operation of the vehicle.

The operation of the invention as thus far described is as follows: Asthe vehicle is propelled the front wheels, as shown in Fig. 1, operateas usual and the front pair of rear wheels (marked J operate as usual,excepting that because the axle is in rear of them these wheels have anup-and-down movement independent of the wagon, and the rear of the truckis supported partly upon the front wheels J and partly upon the rear orcaster wheels 0, and the caster-wheels follow each its own course duringthe propulsion of the Vehicle, swinging to the right or left independentof each other, as the requirements of the road-bed or the direction inwhich the vehicle moves necessitate. Inasmuch as the axle is locatedhalf-way between these wheels, or substantially in that position,obviously the efieet upon the vehicle of obstructions or inequalities(depression or elevations) in the road-bed is reduced to approximatelyonehalf that which they would ordinarily have. For example, assume thatthe front wheels run over a brick. Their elevation would be two inches;but because the rearaxle engages with the framework II M half-waybetween the two wheels obviously the upward thrust on the vehicle wouldbe but one inch.

The operation of the structure shown in Fig. 3 is the same in kind asthat illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2, but to a greater degree that is tosay, the above-stated operation pertains to the front axle with its fourwheels, and in the ease of the rear axle the same effect is produced,excepting that a greater smoothness in the travel of the vehicle isattained, because many obstructions, particularly depressions in theroad-bed, will be bridged entirely by the multiplication of the wheels,so that they will not be felt-that is to say, assume that the frontwheels J encounter a depression in the roadwaya hole in asphaltpavement, for example. When this occurs, the weight of the vehicle willbe carried by the two caster-wheels which are on that side, as in Fig. 3the wheels Q and 0 will support the vehicle on that side, while thelarge or non-swinging wheel J is carried bodily over the depression inmid-air, and when it has reached the other side of the hole (which underordinary circumstances it will do before the first caster-wheel'Qreaches the depression, because these holes in city pavements areusually of small area) then the weight will be taken in turn upon thewheel J and the wheel Q will pass over the depression or hole, theweight of the vehicle being supported upon the rearmost casterwheel 0'and the front large wheel J. \Vhen the rear wheel 0 encounters thedepression, it may sink into it to a certain degree; but the weight ofthe other wheels will in most cases act as a counterbalance andpartially, if not wholly, sustain the load, so that the jarring effectwill be largely, if not entirely, done away with. In this way themovement of the vehicle with its load is rendered much more smooth andfree from shock or jar than is ordinarily the case, and this result isso marked that in ordinary instances no springs will be needed. Thusalthough the presence of these wheels imposes an added expensenevertheless the saving in other respects is so great and the ease ofmovement of the vehicle so greatly increased that the net result is adecided gain.

Referring now to Figs. 4 and 5, in these views I illustrate the sameinvention-that is to say, the idea of a forward fixed wheel and a rearcaster-wheel with an axle about midway between them so arranged and combined with other parts that an action which I denominate climbing can beobtained, whereby obstaclessuch as a gutter or the like, or, with largerapparatus, a stone wall or similar obstruction-may be easily and quicklysurmounted by a novel operation of the parts.

In Figs. 4 and 5 the invention is illustrated as applied to a push-cart;but obviously the same construction may be used in any vehiclesuch, forinstance, as a dump-cart, ainmunition-wagon, cannon-carriage,wheelbarrow, the. In the event of wheelbarrows a single wheel-frame onlywill be required. It is also obvious that instead of having four wheelsthere may be three or anylarger number desired. In these figures, (trepresents the body of the push-cart, b the handle, and c the usualfront support. The wheels in the instance shown are four in number anddesignated (1. They are preferably much smaller than the ordinary pushcart wheels-say about the size of the usual wheelbarrowwheel. They may,however, be larger or smaller. c is the central axle, upon which on eachside of the cart there is a frame f, provided with the usual hub 9. Atthe extremities of the frame f are frames h, which are preferablybifurcated after the manner of a frame which supports an ordinarycaster, and the wheels (I are supported within this frame upon axes i.The frames h are pivoted to the central frame f by bolt or pinconnections which are headed at both ends or provided with nuts in suchmanner that the frames It can be pivoted upon these bolts relative tothe central frame f in the same manner that the caster-wheels shown inthe other drawings are pivoted relative to the main frames which supportthem, and in the same manner also as an ordinary furniturecaster pivotsrelative to its support. Adjacent to these axes k 70 are pins Z, set inrecesses m, made partly within the frame It and partly within the framef. These pins Z are smaller than the recesses m, so that they are freeto move under the action of gravity through these recesses m.

The operation is obvious. Assume that the device he awheelbarrow andthat the person using it encounters a curb which he wishesto pass. Thefront of the wheel (the part marked a: in Fig. will-strike against thecurb, a slight pushing action on the handles of the wheelbarrow willcause the whole frame of wheels to rotate a quarter revolution upon themain axis 6, so that the axis i of the front wheel acts as a fulcrumupon which the entire frame works and the wheelbarrow itself pivots, andthereupon the upper right -hand wheel (see Fig. 4) will be brought downupon the sidewalk beyond the curb, and the wheel which first engagedwith the curb will become the second instead of the first in contactwith the ground. Because of the partial rotation of the framework andthe consequent change of position in the wheels the-pin Z, whichprimarily was in the position shown .at the right in Fig. 5, in which itlocked the caster frame or fork to the main central frame, now assumesthe position shown at the left in Fig. 5, and under the action ofgravity drops through the recess m quite to the lower end of it, so thatit passes entirely beyond that portion of the recess which is in thecentral frame f. \Vhen in this position, obviously the rear wheel, asshown at the left in Fig. 5, is free'to rotate about its axis after themanner of an ordinary caster, so that corners can be turned easily. Theparts will remain in this position until the next obstacle isencountered, whereupon a repetition of the movements just describedtakes place, and as the frame revolves in thisstep-by-step fashion thelocking-pins Z continually change their position, as clearly shown indotted lines in Fig. 4, so that the forward wheel is always looked andthe rear wheel is always free for pivotal movement.

Among the advantages which I secure are these: Owing to the fact thatthe vehicle, whatever it may be, is supported at a greater number ofpoints than heretofore,all' inequalities in the road are compensated'forto a greater or less extent, so that it takes a small portion only ofthe tractive powernow necessary to effect the forward movement. It is awell-known fact that all loads upon vehicles have to be regulated,depending upon the worst part of any road-that is to say, an ordinaryteam of horses could upon a perfect road-sucl1 as macadamized,asphalted, or

paved city streets -pull four, six, or eight tons, provided the road bein perfect condi tion throughout the entire distance the load is to behauled; but owing to the fact that broken pavement or holes in theasphalt, cartracks, and other obstructions are necessarily encounteredthe load must be reduced to onehalf the above amount or less, so thatwhen these obstructions are encountered the team can handle it.Thereforeif anymeans can be provided whereby the effect of these defectsin the roadway can be overcome loads can be made proportionately largerand a great saving effected. Precisely this result is that which issecured by my invention, not perfectly, it

is true, but to a considerable extent. Also furniture, glassware, andmany other commodities, as Well as passengers, are seriously affectedand sometimes injured by reason of the jolts and jars to which they aresubjected during transportation. By my invention these are reduced to alarge extent and in some cases avoided altogether. Also although myvehicles have more wheels than heretofore in use, yet these wheels maybe smaller and relatively lighter, so that the aggregate weight of thevehicle is not materially increased and the life of the wheels is verygreatly prolonged. Also, owing to the fact that in most casesforinstance, in drays, carts, and the likesprings are largely necessary,where my invention is employed the cart or wagon bodies may be madenearer the ground, thereby effecting a saving in loading and unloadingand also in expense of the springwork, their weight being also avoided.Also by distributing the weight of the vehicle and its load over aplurality of points of support there is not so great embedment in mud orinjury to paved streets as where the support is practically upon one ortwo pointsonly at one side of the vehicle.

Where my invention is employed with a ro-.

-tating frame, as shown in Figs. 4 and 5, it becomes possible totransport loads under circumstances which would be utterly impossiblewithout this construction-that is to say, the tires being made ofsufficient width, cannon, ammunition, farm produce, and other heavyloads can be readily conveyed over rough fields and even over stonewalls or trunks of trees withoutthe previous construction of anyroadway. plied to push-carts and wheelbarrows have been already fullyexplained.

The advantages as ap-.

The instances I have shown are examples only of constructions in whichmy invention may be employed. It will be obvious to those who arefamiliar with this art that many modifications of the detailsillustrated and described may be employedwithout departing from theessentials of the invention. I therefore do not limit myself to thespecial instances or the special constructions shown and described.

Having described my invention, I claim- 1. In the running-gear ofvehicles or like structures, the combination of a side frame upon eachside of the body of the vehicle and parallel wit-h it, a wheel at ornear the front end of each side frame, a caster-like frame pivotallyconnected to each side frame, a-

wheel upon each caster-frame, and an axle engaging with the side framesbetween the respective forward wheels and the casterdike frames, for thepurposes set forth.

2. In the running-gear of vehicles or like structures, the combinationof side frames parallel with the body of the vehicle, a wheel at or nearthe front end of each side frame, caster-like frames hinged to the sideframes, a wheel upon each caster-frame smaller in diameter than theforward Wheel of that frame, and an axle engaging with the side framesin rear of the forward wheels respectively, for the purposes set forth.

3. In the running-gear for vehicles or like structures,the combinationof a pair of Wheels with their axle at the front end of the vehicle, atruck-like structure at the rear of the vehicle embodying side framessupporting at their front ends respectively a wheel maintained inparallelism with the body of the Vehicle, other wheels pivoted to theside frames and adapted to independent horizontal movement, and an axleengaging with the side frames, for the purposes set forth.

4. In the running-gear for vehicles or like structures, the combinationof side frames maintained at right angles to the axle which engages withthem, a wheel at the forward end of each of the side frames which ismaintained in parallelism with the side frame upon which it is mounted,caster-like frames hinged to the side frames respectively, and a wheelupon each caster-frame, for the purposes set forth.

5. The combination, in a vehicle or like structure, of side framespivotally connected to the respective ends of the axle, wheels mountedupon each of said side frames, and means whereby some of the wheels arepermanently maintained in parallelism with the side frames and othersallowed independent movement relative to the side frames, for thepurposes set forth.

Signed at New York, in the county of New York and State of New York,this 5th day of December, A. D. 1899.

JAMES BUCHANAN.

